99x: Business as usual in the ‘New Normal’

Teams in Sri Lanka and Norway collaborating seamlessly while working from home

Organisations globally have been forced to rethink the way they do business in what is now known as the ‘new normal’ and a key part of this has been end-to-end digitisation, from the way we work to how business is conducted. Corporates that were able to embrace this digital transformation early on have wielded a competitive edge. Technology company 99x transitioned smoothly into this phase, not only by spearheading digitisation within the organisation, but by empowering companies both locally and globally to do so, through cutting-edge digital solutions. 

99x’s core business offering lies in digitising businesses globally by building impactful digital products. Over the last 15 years, its highly skilled product engineers have worked with enterprises internationally to digitise manual processes from scratch or to modernise existing digital systems. Together, they have created over 150 digital products in this time. They have continued to do so since the lockdown that commenced in March this year, thanks to a 100% productive workforce, despite working from home. 

People-first approach

All this was possible due to 99x’s main focus throughout the pandemic – the safety and wellbeing of its people, and to save every job by ensuring business continuity. Providing a stable work-from-home (WFH) platform for every employee was a crucial part of ensuring this continuity. 

The company focused on the health of the company by taking measures internally to shore up cash reserves, expand business development activities to new markets and introduce new services, while diligently managing expenses. As an added precaution, the company shareholders ploughed funds into the company to ensure a six-month cash reserve, greatly mitigating any immediate risk. Specific measures were taken to support employees throughout these uncertain times.  

Anticipating WFH

99x’s WFH arrangement was rolled out to all employees even before curfew was imposed, to minimise their need to travel especially by public transport. Required infrastructure were provided for them at their homes, with arrangements to reimburse additional expenses. The 99x support teams worked round the clock to iron out any issues experienced by its people.

“I am proud to say that we have been successful in these endeavours – so much so that we have virtually on-boarded many new employees over the last six months and have even signed on new clients in this period, offering much-needed stability both to our employees and to the industry at large, as an established organisation in the Lankan IT sector,” observed 99x Founder and CEO Mano Sekaram. 

A testament to the company’s resilience and commitment to operating ‘business as usual’ was its decision to launch its new visual identity in September, where 99x revealed a new logo and look, which was only possible thanks to the measures outlined above. 

Technology-driven ‘new normal’

While many organisations have gone the extra mile to adjust and adapt to the new normal, there is a lot more to be done as the world seems poised to enter yet another year dominated by COVID-19. Commenting on this, Sekaram noted: “We need to reimagine a new post-COVID economy driven by technology, one that is highly automated in production and other infrastructure and minimises human contact.”

“Local IT companies have done a lot to position themselves globally, which can be seen from the global giants whose technology is driven by Sri Lankan innovation. Yet, there is always more that can be done. While the global outsourcing industry has been affected by the pandemic, the bounce-back will be quick, and the outsourcing sector will be more relevant than ever. We need to be ready for this, to capture opportunities created by this phase of rapid digitisation,” he added, commenting on the Lankan IT industry. 

Headquartered in Sri Lanka, 99x is a technology company co-creating well-engineered, innovative digital products for the Scandinavian market. Its expertise has been proven through a portfolio of over 150 impactful global digital products developed since 2004, together with leading Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). 99x employs over 350 technology and product specialists, who are high achievers, creative thinkers and team players. The company is one of ‘Asia’s Best Workplaces for 2020’ and has been named a ‘Best Workplace in Sri Lanka’ for eight consecutive years.

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